The Lightning Thief Or Should I Say Thieves?
by EllatheHarpy
Summary: Percy wasn't the only hero to come to Camp-Halfblood. Now you get to meet his best friend, Astraia Bonalzi. Puts a little twist to the story, doesn't it?
1. Chapter 1

**OH MY GOSH! I had this idea in my dream the other night and just _had _to post it. Funny fact- My name means dream, which also means I gets most of my writing ideas in my dreams. Cool, right?**

**Enjoy!(Note-Astraea Roman form of Astraia)**

**Astraia POV-**

"PERCY! Hurry up! The bus's about to leave and Grover is saving us seats!" I yelled at my idiotic best friend through the boys dorm door. Confused? Oh yeah, to cut the story short, my name is Astraia and I'm a dyslexic kid with ADHD. That simple enough for you? Anyway, my best friend since birth is Percy Jackson, also known as kelp head**(A/N: hehe, so Annabeth didn't make up that one... twist)**. Why is he called that? Well, lets just say a science experiment in fourth grade didn't go so well... Percy was dyslexic and had ADHD too, pretty coincidental, right?

"Coming, Stargirl**(Another A/N: Thats a book)**! Wait up!" Percy replied. I huffed. This was, like, the seventh school me and Percy had been to since kindergarten. Something weird just _had _to happen and got us kicked out. Like in second grade, I had blown up the whole playground. It was a pure accident, I promise.

Percy appeared out the door and we took off running, which eventually turned into a full-fledged race. Childish, I know, but that's just me and Percy. By the time we got to the bus, we were both panting and sweating. On the way to our seats, Percy and I bickered about who won the race. "Hey guys!" Grover called as we slid next to him in the seat.

"Hey Grover!" I say, happily. Percy looks at me like what-the-heck and I just grin at him like my usual chirpy self.

"_Hey Grover," _A nasally voice said from the seat behind us, "how are your loser friends?" Nancy Bobofit. Ew. Just, ew. She's basically a spoiled rich kid who loves torturing me, Percy, and Grover. Nancy started putting bits of a peanut butter sandwich in Grover's hair and I felt Percy stiffen beside me. He hated it when Grover got picked on. I patted his back and Grover sent a reassuring smile his way.

Soon enough, I started nodding into unconsciousness, "Wake me up when we get there..." I said to Percy. He nodded and I fell asleep.

* * *

***At the Museum***

"Star, Star wake up, " Percy shook me awake, " wants to talk to us..." He trailed off and I gulped. Mrs. Dodds was this horrid math teacher we had. She loved Nancy, but hated us.

"Coming." I whispered. I took Percy's hand and squeezed it. He automatically squeezed back and smiled. We followed into an abandoned museum room. I began to ask, "Okay, so what didi we do now?" Mrs. Dodds started making this weird noise in her throat, almost like she was growling.

Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...

"You've been giving us problems, honey, " she said.

I certainly didn't want detention. So I said, "Yes, ma'am. "

She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"

The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.

I wondered what she was talking about but Percy said, "I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am. "

Thunder shook the building.

"We are not fools, Percy Jackson, " Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain. "

I didn't know what she was talking about.

All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy Percy and I'd been selling out of my dorm room. Or maybe they'd realized we got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away our grades. Or worse, they were going to make us read the book.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Ma'am, I don't... "

"Your time is up, " she hissed.

Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.

Then things got even stranger.

Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen and a necklace in his hand.

"What ho, Percy! Astraia! Use these!" he shouted, and tossed them through the air. Percy caught the pen while I the necklace. We shared a weird look.

Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.

With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the diamond necklace out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a necklace anymore. It was a bow and arrow.

Mrs. Dodds spun toward Percy with a murderous look in her eyes. Percy wasn't holding a pen anymore, he was holding a Mr. Brunner's bronze sword that he used on tournament day.

My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the bow and arrow.

She snarled, "Die, honey!"

And she flew straight at us.

Absolute terror ran through my body. Then, a feeling came over me and I notched an arrow and shot it at Mrs. Dodds just as Percy slashed his sword.

The metal blade and arrow hit her and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss! dispputed into dust. Our weapons turned back to a normal pen and necklace. Percy and I gaped at each other.

"Okay..." I trailed off. "Wait, ." We both ran outside . Everything was normal. It was as if nothing had happened.

"But...but..." Percy mumbled.

"Ahhh, yes. Seems as if you found my pen. Thank you, Percy. And you too, Astraia." Percy and I nodded, then I remembered the necklace. I hid it behind my back.

"See you later Mr. Brunner." I pulled Percy's arm toward the fountain. "Percy, the necklace." he nodded, understanding.

"What's that Jackson? Talking to your _girlfriend_? I don't know why your even friends with _her._ She's not even pretty." Percy clenched his fist. I was about to tell Nancy off, but something strange happened. The water suddenly jumped up and _grabbed_ Nancy. She fell into the fountain with a big 'SPLASH'. Once again, Percy and I shared a weird look. 'Later' I mouthed. I could tell Percy agreed and we reluctantly helped Nancy out of the fountain.

* * *

***In Astraia's Dorm***

I stood in front of my mirror. Percy was sitting on my bed. "Am I really not pretty?" I said. I know Nancy's words shouldn't have gotten into my head, but these words stung. I stared at my reflection. My unruly midnight black hair came down to my mid-back and was wavy-ish. I had these muddy brown eyes that Percy considered "Chocolate Brown" and a small button nose. My lips were a shade of pink and my cheeks were a light rosemary because of the running we had to do in gym. I had a purple t-shirt that said "Free Hugs"**(A/N: I have that shirt!) **and jean capris on. My converse were a deep purple.

"Why do you let Nancy's words get into your head? You know they aren't true." Percy's concerned voice interupted my thoughts.

I sighed, "Anyway, let's look at the necklace." I pulled it out of my pocket and sat down next to Percy. It was a simple silver chain with a bunch of little charms hanging off of it. The biggest charm was at the center, it was a white flower with a silver center. I traced my fingernail over it. Then, an idea popped into my head. I pressed the center of the flower. Suddenly, the center flower turned into a bow and one of the charms turned into a bow and arrow. The necklace was still there, but two charms were missing.

The bow was made of dark wood and had a flower carved into it. The arrows were also a dark brown and had a silver tip. Silver ribbons hung on the end of the arrows. I pressed the flower on the bow and it turned back to charms, which magically appeared on the necklace. "Whoah." Percy and I said at the same time.

"I'm gonna leave; I have some exams to study for, especially the Latin Exam tomorrow." Percy never says, 'I'm going to go study'. I usually have to tell him. Something must have happened. Percy must've gotten in trouble, expelled even. And probably me too. It's weird sometimes, how I can read his mind.

I sighed, "Percy, what happened?"

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Um, Nancy turned us in for, and I state, 'Pushing her into the pool'. We're both expelled, Stargirl." Percy hung his head down, propbably afraid to see my reaction.

"It's okay Seaweed Brain**(A/N: Guess Annabeth didn't make that one either. Hehe)**. I'm not mad." I grinned, "Seeing her suprised face was worth it." Percy lifted his head and grinned back.

"See you. Goodnight." He said. Then Percy went out the door. I exhaled and lied down on my bed. My last thoughts before I fell asleep were 'sweet dreams, Percy'.

**So? How was that?**

**PLEASE R&R! I NEED SOME CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM!**

**THANKS!**

**~EllaTheHarpy**


	2. Chapter 2

**HEYY UPDATING, AGAIN. ENJOY!**

Astraia POV-

"Astraia! Astraia! Wake up!" Percy was shaking me awake. I opened my eyes.

"What?" I asked, a little irritated because it was 2AM.

"Mr. Brunner and Grover were talking about Mrs. Dodds. You know, the teacher that SUPPOSEDLY doesn't exist?" I snapped up after that.

"Really? What did they say?" I asked.

"I was about to go ask Mr. Brunner something when I heard them talking. Here, I recorded it." Percy took out the camcorder I got for his birthday.

We pressed 'PLAY'.

A voice that was definitely Grover's said "... Worried about Percy, sir. "

"... Alone this summer, " Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too-"

"We would only make matters worse by rushing them, " Mr. Brunner said. "We need them to mature more. "

"But they may not have time. The summer solstice dead-line- "

"Will have to be resolved without them, Grover. Let them enjoy their ignorance while they still can. "

"Sir, they saw her... . "

"Their imagination, " Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince them of that. "

"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again. " Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean. "

"You haven't failed, Grover, " Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy and Astraia alive until next fall-"

I heard a thud.

The camcorder went silent.

Then, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing, " he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice. "

"Mine neither, " Grover said. "But I could have sworn ... "

"Go back to the dorm, " Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow. "

"Don't rem-" Percy pressed 'STOP'.

I gulped. "The summer solstice? What does anything have to do with that? And the part about keeping us alive?" Percy shrugged.

"When I got back to our dorm, Grover was on his bed, studying. Like that talk never happened." Percy said. I pondered on this. Hm, what could have happened. But I was too tired to think.

"We'll talk in the morning, on the bus. I'm too tired to think. Goodnight." Percy nodded and tip-toed out the door. I fell back into bed, trying to salvage any sleeping time I had. After all, tomorrow was the last day of school.

* * *

***After Exams, On the Greyhound***

"Ugh, those exams were so hard! My brain hurts." Percy and Grover chuckled. I groaned and laid my head back on the seat.

During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing ner-vously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he

expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.

I think Percy got really annoyed and finally cracked.

He said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"

Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha-what do you mean?"

Percy confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.

Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"

"Oh ... Not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"

He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ... "

"Grover-"

"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ... "

"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar. " I interrupted them and Grover's ears turned pink. I raised my eyebrows, "What _really_ happened?"

From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."

The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:

_Grover Underwood_

_Keeper_

_Half-Blood Hill_

_Long Island, New York_

_(800) 009-0009_

"What's Half-"

"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... Sum-mer address.

Figures, Grover _must _be rich... Everybody in school except for Percy and me were. I could tell Percy's heart sunk. He never really liked being poor.

"Okay, " Percy said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion. "

He nodded. "Or ... Or if you guys need me. "

"Why would we need you?"

It came out harsher than I meant it to.

Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, guys, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you. "

I stared at him.

All year long, Percy'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. And I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without us. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me and Percy.

"Grover, " I said, "what exactly are you protecting us from?"

There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes clanking around in the engine com-partment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover, Percy, and I filed outside with everybody else.

We were on a stretch of country road-no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from pass-ing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.

The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no cus-tomers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.

I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.

All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.

The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at Percy and me.

Percy looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.

"Grover?" Percy said. "Hey, man-"

"Tell me they're not looking at you guys. They are, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?" I joked.

"Not funny, Astraia. Not funny at all. "

The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.

"We're getting on the bus, " he told me. "Come on. "

"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there. "

"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but Percy and I stayed back.

Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for-Sasquatch or Godzilla.

At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.

The passengers cheered.

"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"

Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu. I had a feeling that Percy felt the same way.

Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.

"Grover?" Percy asked.

"Yeah?"

"What are you not telling me?"

He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Guys, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?" I shivered right after I said that. She was seriously creepy.

His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you guys saw. "

"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn. " Percy answered.

He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost-older.

He said, "You two saw her snip the cord. "

"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.

"This is not happening, " Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time. "

"What last time?"

"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth. "

"Grover, " I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me walk you two home from the bus station. Promise me. "

Percy and I exchanged looks. This seemed like a strange request, but I promised he could. So did Percy

"Is this like a superstition or something?" Percy asked.

No answer.

"Grover-that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?" I asked.

He looked at us mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers we'd like best on our coffin.

**Wow! Long... Maybe I'll update again today. **

**R&R! Please?**

**~EllaTheHarpy**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow! Three! On a roll! **

**Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PJ! UNFORTUNATELY...**

Astraia POV-

Confession time: We ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.

I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me and Percy like I was a dead girl, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to he sixth grade?"

Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made us promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, we got our suitcases, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.

"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First, " Percy told the driver.

Percy and I had been neighbors ever since we were born. Well, since I was adopted, ever since I moved there. A word on our moms before we meet them.

My mom's name is Sarah Bonalzi. She has dirty blond hair and is on the short side. That's how you know we're not related. While I'm on the tall side, she's pretty short. My mom always smiles. She is an amazing cook and is best friends with Percy's mom. Probably cause they're so alike.

Percy's mom's name is Sally Jackson and she's the happiest person I know(besides my mom). Well, she's only happy because of Percy. A few years ago, Percy's mom married a store manager named Gabe Ugliano. Percy always complains about him, he says Gabe is the worst person in the world, and I agree. Gabe is a fat, lazy loser. Please mind my language there, but it had to be said.

And then there's Percy's dad. A ship sailor who never came back after going on a voyage. He was the only good break Percy's mom got, or so that's what he says.

Since my mom wasn't home from work yet, I walked into Percy's apartment, hoping Percy's mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.

Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you two are home. "

"Where's my mom?" Percy asked.

"Working, " he said. "You two got any cash?"

That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months? I truly felt sorry for Percy.

Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.

He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. Percy and I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever Percy and/or were there, he expected us to provide his gambling funds. He called that Percy and his "guy secret. " Meaning, if he told my mom, he would punch Percy's lights out.

"We don't have any cash, " Percy told him. I just stood behind him quietly.

He raised a greasy eyebrow.

Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.

"You took a taxi from the bus station, " he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"

Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at us with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe, " he said. "The kids just got here. "

"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.

Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.

"Fine, " Percy said. He dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose. "

"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after us. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"

Percy slammed the door to his room, which really wasn't his room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study. " He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving Percy's stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on Percy's windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.

I brushed the gross stuff off of the bed and sat down. "Well, wasn't that a warm welcome." I said sarcastically.

Percy sighed, "He'll never leave me alone. Why did my mom even marry _him_?"

I shrugged, "There must've been a reason. No one can marry Smelly Gabe without a purpose."

Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.

But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic-how he'd made us promise we wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone- something-was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.

Then I heard Percy's mom's voice. "Percy? Astraia?"

She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.

Percy's mother can make you feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but we never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even Percy or Gabe. And she considered me to be the daughter she never had.

"Oh, Percy, Astraia. " She hugged us tight. "I can't believe it. You two have grown since Christmas!"

Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought us a huge bag of "free samples, " the way she always did when we came home.

We sat together on the edge of the bed. While Percy and I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through Percy's hair and demanded to know everything we hadn't put in our letters. She didn't mention anything about us getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But were we ok? Were her two little monkeys doing alright?

Percy told her she was smothering us, and to lay off and all that, but I knew that secretly, he was really, really glad to see her. And I was too.

From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?"

Percy gritted his teeth.

His mom is the nicest lady in the world(besides my mom). She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.

For her sake, Percy and I tried to sound upbeat about our last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. We'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, Percy's fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. We liked Yancy Academy. We really did. We put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.

Until that trip to the museum ...

"What?" Percy's mom asked. Her eyes tugged at our consciences, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you two?"

"No, Mom. " Percy said. It felt bad lying to her. I could tell he wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn. But I guess it _would_ sound stupid and all.

She pursed her lips. She knew we were holding back, but she didn't push us.

"I have a surprise for you two, " she said. "We're going to the beach. "

Percy's eyes widened. "Montauk?"

"Three nights-same cabin." I gasped slightly. This was too much money. "Honestly Astraia, it's ok. You are coming by the way." She said with an air of finality.

"When?" Percy asked.

She smiled. "As soon as I get changed. "

I knew my mom would agree so I nodded.

Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"

I could tell Percy wanted to punch him, but he met my mom's eyes and understood she was offering us a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.

"I was on my way, honey, " she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip. "

Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"

"I knew it, " Percy muttered. "He won't let us go. "

"Of course he will, " Percy's mom said evenly. "Your step-father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides, " she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works. " I inwardly grinned. She really knew how to talk.

Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... It comes out of your clothes budget, right?"

"Yes, honey, " my mother said.

"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back. "

"We'll be very careful. "

Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kids apologize for interrupting my poker game."

_Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot,_ a voice said. _And make you sing soprano for a week. _I looked around quickly. Nobody seemed to have said anything. But, I'd sworn I'd heard something.

"I'm sorry, " Percy muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now. "

"Good enough, and now the girl." Percy hugged me protectively.

"Sorry." I said curtly.

Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably try-ing to detect sarcasm in Percy's statement. "Yeah, whatever, " he decided.

He went back to his game.

"Thank you, kids, " my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... Whatever you two have forgot-ten to tell me, okay?"

For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes-the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride-as if Percy's mom too felt an odd chill in the air.

But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.

An hour later we were ready to leave.

Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch Percy lug my and his mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking and more important, his '78 Camaro-for the whole weekend.

"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy, " Gabe warned Percy as he loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch. "

Like he'd be the one driving. Percy was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame Percy.

Watching him lumber back toward the apartment build-ing, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the stair-case as if he'd been shot from a cannon. Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out. We all got into the car and were on our way.

Little did I know something weird was going to happen.

**There. Chappy number 3. Maybe I'll do 4. If I have time.**

**PLEASE R&R!**

**~EllaTheHarpy**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4! Far off allready! Have fun reading!**

**Disclaimer:I DO NOT OWN PJ. SERIOUSLY.**

Astraia's POV-

Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded cur-tains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.

But we loved it. Percy and I had been going there ever since we were babies. Percy's mom had been going even longer.

As we got closer to Montauk, Percy's mom seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.

We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples Percy's mom had brought from work.

I guess I should explain the blue food.

See, Gabe had once told Percy's mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, his mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This-along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than call-ing herself Mrs. Ugliano-was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like Percy.

When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. told us stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told us about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.

Eventually, Percy asked the one question's answer he never gets tired of hearing-about his dad. 's eyes went all misty.

"He was kind, Percy, " she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes. "

fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud. "

I felt kind of jealous about this. Percy had real parents and wasn't adopted. He had a dad too.

"How old was I?" Percy asked. "I mean ... When he left?"

She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin. "

"But... He knew me as a baby. " Percy said.

"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born. "

"Are you and mom going to send us away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"

She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.

"I don't know, honey. " Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something. "

"Because you don't want me around?" I could tell Percy regretted the words as soon as they were out.

My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I-I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away. "

"Because I'm not normal, " Percy said. I raised my eyebrows at this.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe. " Safe? Grover had said the same thing.

"Safe from what?" I asked.

She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me-all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.

During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked Percy on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed him when he told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.

Before that-a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.

In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.

I knew I should tell about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had shot my math teacher to dust with an arrow. But I couldn't make myself tell her.

I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.

"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could, " Percy's mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy-the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it. "

"What about me?" I asked, nervous. Percy and I had been in the same school since before even pre-k.

"Oh, Astraia, honey, you'll have to go to an all-girls school. I'm so sorry." Percy and I looked at each other in horror. We had never been apart. This would be horrifying.

Percy's eyes welled with tears and he cleared his throat and turned back to his mom. "My father wanted me to go to a special school?"

"Not a school, " she said softly. "A summer camp. "

My head was spinning. Why would Percy's dad talk to his mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?

"I'm sorry, Percy, " she said, seeing the look in his eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I-I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good. "

"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ... " What kind of summer camp stays open that long?

She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.

* * *

***In cabin, in bed***

That night I had a vivid dream.

I was standing in the middle of an ocean of white. On one side, Percy stood with his mouth gagged and hands bound. On the the other side, my mom was standing, also gagged.

One word lite up, "CHOOSE!" I hesitated. Just then the invisible ice cracked and Percy and my mom disappeared before my eyes. I screamed, 'NO!'

I woke with a start. Percy also sat up next to me. We looked at eachother.

Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.

With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane. "

I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have for-gotten. Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.

Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice-someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.

Percy's mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.

Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... He wasn't exactly Grover.

"Searching all night, " he gasped. "What were you two thinking?"

Percy's mother looked at us in terror-not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.

"Percy,Astraia, " she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"

I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.

"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you guys tell her?"

I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on-and where his legs should be ... Where his legs should be ...

Percy's mom looked at us sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "Kids. Tell me now!"

Percy stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.

She grabbed her purse, tossed me and Percy our rain jackets, and said, "Get to the car. All three of you. Go!"

Grover ran for the Camaro-but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.

Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.

We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the wind-shield. I didn't know how Percy's mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.

Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants. But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo- lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.

Percy finally said, "So, you and my mom... Know each other?"

Graver's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly, " he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you. "

"Watching me?"

"Keeping tabs on you. Both of you. Making sure you two were okay. But I wasn't faking being you guy's friend, " he added hastily. "I am your friend. "

"Erm ... What are you, exactly?" I asked.

"That doesn't matter right now. "

"It doesn't matter? Don't you think I would want to know that one of my best friend's was a _donkey _from the waist down?" I yelled in the car.

Grover bleated, "Blaa-ha-ha! I am _not _a donkey! I'm a _goat_ waist down. Not donkey. Goat. There are some satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"

"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?" Percy interrupted our quarrel.

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"

"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!" I exclaimed.

"Of course. "

"Then why-"

"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract, " Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you two'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You guys started to realize who you really are. "

"Who I-wait a minute, what do you mean?" Percy said nervously.

The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.

"Percy, Astraia, " Percy's mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you two to safety. "

"Safety from what? Who's after us?" I asked.

"Oh, nobody much, " Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions. "

"Grover!"

"Sorry, Ms. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"

I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.

Ms. Jackson mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked.

"The summer camp I told you about. " My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for our sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you. "

"The place you didn't want me to go. "

"Please, dear, " my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger. "

"Because some old ladies cut yarn. "

"Those weren't old ladies, " Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means-the fact they appeared in front of you guys? They only do that when you're about to ... When someone's about to die. "

"Whoa. You said 'you. '" I said.

"No I didn't. I said 'someone. '"

"You meant 'you. ' As in me. "

"I meant you, like 'someone. ' Not you, you. "

"Guys!" I said. "I understand Percy, for some reason, has to go to this camp, but what about me?"

"Your right, Grover?" Ms. Jackson said.

"There's no time. We'll have to take her with us!" Grover yelled.

Percy's mom pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid-a dark flutter-ing shape now lost behind us in the storm.

"What was that?" I asked.

"We're almost there, " Percy's mother said, ignoring my question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please. "

I didn't know where there was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.

Outside, nothing but rain and darkness-the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leath-ery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really hadn't been human. She'd meant to kill me.

Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... And the necklace he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling boom!, and our car exploded.

I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.

Percy and I peeled our foreheads off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow. "

"Percy! Astraia!" Percy's mom shouted.

"We're okay..."

I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.

Lightning. That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"

He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're one of my best friends and I don't want you to die!

Then he groaned "Food, " and I knew there was hope.

"Kids, " Percy's mother said, "we have to ... " Her voice faltered.

I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.

I swallowed hard. "Who is-"

"Guys, " my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car. "

Ms. Jackson threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking. Percy looked helplessly at Grover.

"Climb out the passenger's side!" Percy's mother told us. "Percy, Astraia-you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"

"What?" I said.

Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.

"That's the property line, " Percy's mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door. "

"Mom, you're coming too. " Percy said, convinced.

Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.

"No!" Percy shouted. "You are coming with us. Help me and Astraia carry Grover. "

"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.

The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he couldn't be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands-huge meaty hands-were swing-ing at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... Was his head. And the points that looked like horns ...

"He doesn't want us, " Percy's mother told us. "He wants you two. Besides, I can't cross the property line. "

"But... " Percy said.

"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please. "

And so, Percy and I took off. With Grover between us. Then Percy stopped and turned around. "No, mom. You are going with us." Percy helped his mom get out of the car and we took off up the hill.

**Longest chappy yet... **

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**~EllaTheHarpy**


	5. Chapter 5

**C****happy #5! YAY!**

**Disclaimer-I do not own pj... Sadly.**

Astraia POV-

Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist- high grass.

Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine-bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except under-wear-I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms-which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.

His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns-enormous black-and- white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.

I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.

I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's-" Percy began.

"Pasiphae's son, " Percy's mother interrupted. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you. "

"But he's the Min-"

"Don't say his name, " she warned. "Names have power. "

The pine tree was still way too far-a hundred yards uphill at least.

I glanced behind me again.

The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.

"Food?" Grover moaned.

"Shhh, " Percy told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"

"His sight and hearing are terrible, " she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough. "

As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.

Not a scratch, I remembered Smelly Gabe saying.

Oops.

"Percy, Astraia, " my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way- directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me. "

"Keeping me near you? But-" Percy said, confused.

Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.

He'd smelled us.

The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter.

The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.

Percy's mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, kids! Separate! Remember what I said. "

I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right-it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on Percy. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.

He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at Percy's chest.

"NO!" I screamed. That got his attention long enough for Percy to move. Unfortunately, the monster wanted to kill me now. The bull-man started towards me.

The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing. So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.

The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me or Percy this time, toward Percy's mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.

We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.

The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing , who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.

"Run, kids!" she told us. "I can't go any farther. Run!"

But Percy and I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.

"Mom!" Percy yelled.

She caught his eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"

Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around Percy's mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... Gone.

"No!" Percy screamed.

The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.

I couldn't allow that.

I stripped off my red rain jacket.

"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"

"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.

"Astraia! What are you doing? Stop!" Percy tried to catch the monster's attention, but it's eyes were on my rain jacket.

I had an idea-a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all. I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.

But it didn't happen like that.

The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.

Time slowed down.

My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.

How did I do that? I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.

The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.

The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.

Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. Percy was still trying to get the monster's attention. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.

"Food!" Grover moaned.

The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then-snap!

The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.

The monster charged.

Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.

The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate-not like Percy's mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.

The monster was gone.

The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief I'd just seen my best friend's mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but Grover was still there. "Percy! Come on!" I yelled.

"But.. how?" He said.

"That doesn't matter right now! Help me!"

We managed to drag Grover down the hill to the farmhouse. Tears were streaming down my face and probably Percy's too, but we dragged Grover onto the porch. The last thing I remember before passing out was saying, "Help..."

* * *

I had a really weird dream that was full of different animals and people. The animals just wanted food, but the people were talking to me. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but it was like they were trying to warn me.

I think I woke up several times, but was out of consciousness before I could make sense of anything. I finally woke, without fainting again. A girl with curly hair was feeding me pudding. Percy was on a rocker chair looking like he hadn't slept for days.

He saw that I was awake and said, "Stargirl! Your awake!" a little relieved.

I rolled my eyes, "Duh, you know me, strong and stubborn as a mule." I joked.

Percy turned serious, "It's not funny, you were out for about two days. I woke up last night. Grover's fine, though."

I tried sitting up, but the ceiling started spinning. The girl steadied me, "Don't strain yourself. My name is Annabeth, by the way." I smiled at her and muttered a 'thanks'.

Grover came in holding a glass of apple juice. "Here, drink this." He offered me the glass.

I made a face, I hated apple juice, "Do I have to?" He nodded and I brought the glass to my mouth.

I tilted the glass and the warm liquid filled my mouth. The drink tasted nothing like apple juice, it tasted like my mother's warm chocolate cupcakes, right out of the oven. Before I knew it, the whole glass was finished.

"That's all she can handle, no more Grover." Annabeth said.

"Okay, now that I've had some questions answered, here's the real one. Where am I?" Annabeth pursed her lips.

"Why don't you let Chiron explain? I think Percy deserves an explaination too. Come along." Percy helped me get up and I limped with one arm on Percy's shoulder, to the porch. I collapsed on an armchair.

Mr. Brunner was sitting next to a man that was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels- what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park. He wore a tiger- pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my step-father.

"That's Mr. D, " Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron... . "

"?" I asked. -er, Chiron-smiled at me warmly. "What's going on?"

"Ah, good, Percy, Astraia, " he said. "Now we have five for pinochle. "

Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you. "

'Gee, thanks' I thought sarcastically. Mr.D narrowed his eyes, like he heard my thought.

"I'd be nice if I were you, smarty pants." The camp director said.

"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.

She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Astraia. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy and Astraia's bunk? We'll be putting them in cabin eleven for now. "

Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron. "

Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.

"So, " I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"

"Not Mr. Brunner, " the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron. "

"Okay. " Totally confused, Percy looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... Does that stand for something?"

Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are power-ful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason. "

"Oh. Right. Sorry. "

"I must say, children, " Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time. "

"House call?" I said.

"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... Ah, take a leave of absence. "

I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.

"You came to Yancy just to teach us?" I asked.

Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you two at first. We contacted Percy's mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test. "

"Grover, " Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"

"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.

"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me and Percy suspiciously.

"I'm afraid not, " I said.

"I'm afraid not, sir, " he said.

"Sir, " I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.

"Well, " he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young children to know the rules. "

"I'm sure the children can learn, " Chiron said.

"Please, " Percy said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun-Chiron-why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me and Percy?"

Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question. "

The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile.

Chiron smiled at us sympathetically.

"Percy, " he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'

"She said ... "Percy's eyes were sad. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."

"Typical, " Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"

"What?" I asked.

He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.

"I'm afraid there's too much to tell, " Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient. "

"Orientation film?" I asked.

"No, " Chiron decided. "Well, Percy, Astraia. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"-he pointed to the horn in the shoe box-"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods-the forces you call the Greek gods-are very much alive. "

Percy and I stared at the others around the table.

"Is this a joke?" I asked.

Chiron sent another sympathetic smile at me. "I'm afraid not, child."

I waited for somebody to yell, Not! But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.

"Mr. D, " Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"

"Eh? Oh, all right. "

Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.

"Wait, " I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God. "

"Well, now, " Chiron said. "God-capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical. "

"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about-"

"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter. "

"Smaller?"

"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class. "

"Zeus, " I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them. "

And there it was again-distant thunder on a cloud-less day.

"Young woman, " said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you. "

"But they're stories, " I said. "They're-myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science. "

"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Astraia Rosa Bonaldzi"-I flinched when he said my full name, which I never told anybody-"what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals-they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me. "

I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... He wasn't. It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.

"Children, " Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"

I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.

"You mean, whether people believed in you or not, " Percy said.

"Exactly, " Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that some-day people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"

Percy said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods.

"Oh, you'd better, " Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you. "

Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock. "

"A lucky thing, too, " Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe. '"

He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.

My jaw dropped, but Chiron didn't even look up.

"Mr. D, " he warned, "your restrictions. "

Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.

"Dear me. " He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"

More thunder.

He waved his hand again, and the goblet turned into a cna of diet cola. Mr. D sadly popped open his can and turned back to his game.

Annabeth came running towards us, "Chiron, the stuff is ready."

"Fantastic, Percy, Astraia, why don't you let Annabeth give you a tour." We both stood up.

"Ok." I started following her, with Percy following behind me.

We past a volleyball pit, a sword arena, and a big U of cabins. Annabeth explained to us as we walked. We stopped at cabin eleven.

Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a reg-ular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on old. The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it... ? A caduceus.

Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.

Percy and I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at us, sizing us up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.

"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on. "

I stepped into the doorway. Percy, being a natural clutz, tripped on the doorway. Some of the campers snickered. A small voice said, "She's pretty." I blushed.

"Um, hello?" I said. Percy said hi too.

Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, Atraia Bonaldzi, meet cabin eleven."

"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.

I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined. "

Everybody groaned.

A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy and Astraia. You can have those spots on the floor, right over there. "

The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cute. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.

"This is Luke, " Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing. She saw me looking, and her expression hard-ened again. "He's your counselor for now. "

"For now?" Percy asked.

"You're undetermined, " Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers. "

I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.

I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.

"How long will I be here?" I asked.

"Good question, " Luke said. "Until you're determined. "

"What?" I muttered. What had I gotten myself into?

**Done! Longest chapter yet!**

**R&R! For me?**

**~EllaTheHarpy**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow, chappy 6. Far off really. I'm thinking about doing all five books including Astraia. Should I?**

**Disclaimer-I DO NOT OWN PJ! I only own Belle the pink unicorn and Picky the banana.**

Astraia POV-

"And how long will that take?" Percy asked.

Everyone laughed. I didn't care though. I just worried about what the heck they were talking about.

"Come on, Annabeth said, "I'll show you the volleyball court."

She was obviously trying to get us out of there but, as always, Percy didn't catch on. "I've already seen it." was his ingenious reply.

"Come on." She dragged Percy out of the cabin and I followed close behind.

Once we were a few feet away from the cabin, Annabeth said, "You've got to do better than that."

"What?" Percy asked.

She muttered something under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the ones."

"Hold on, I said. "The ones?"

But before Annabeth could answer my question, a boy from the basketball court jogged over to us. He was on the tall side and had blond hair that fell over his eyes. The boy did that hair-flip thing that all guys do. Then I noticed that he had bright blue eyes that sparkled. "Hey, Annie." The boy said. "Showing the new kids around? I'll show the pretty lady around if you want me too." A cocky smirk appeared on his face. My cheeks burned.

Annabeth scowled. "Don't call me Annie, Noah, unless you want to die, She turned towards me, "Astraia, do you mind if Noah takes you on the tour? We can meet up later if you want."

I shook my head, "I don't mind, and it's okay, Percy and I can meet up the cabin. Bye, Seaweed Brain. Try not to break anything." With one last wave, I took off with Noah.

A carefree smile appeared on his face. "So, how do you like it here so far." Honestly, I didn't know how to answer that question. I was happy, but also sad. I wondered silently about my mother.

"I guess I like it. But I miss home already." Noah nodded. I think he felt the same way. "So, who's your overly important godly parent?" The cocky smirk reappeared.

"Apollo, of course. After all, he _is _the most important of all the gods." I rolled my eyes. Made sense, Apollo had-_has_-the biggest ego in all of Olympus. "You?" He asked.

"Don't know. I know I can't be an Aphrodite camper though, makeup gives me the creeps." We both chuckled.

"I think you could be Athena, or maybe Dementer. I just hope your not Apollo. That would suck." He said.

I laughed a bit more, "Don't worry, I don't seem to have any of the Apollo traits. Healing? No. Archery? No, I once shot my teacher in the bottom. Sports? Oh gods, no." I said. "And Athena would be pretty cool, except for the fact that I've got the brain capacity of the average idiot. Demeter? Definitely no, my presence alone kills any plant in a 10-mile-radius." Noah was shaking with laughter.

Then he straightened up and pretended to check off a list. "At least we deleted some possibilities. What's next? You could be an Ares," He said and I scrunched up my nose, "Okay, well, that's a no. Wait, do you live with your mom, or dad? Not to like offend you or anything..."

I shrugged to tell him it was okay. "I was adopted. I live with my adoptive mother." I felt a bit uncomfortable talking about this.

"Oh..." He let the matter drop. A grin lit up on his face. "What if your a daughter of the Big Three? Like Thalia?"

I drew my eyebrows together. "Thalia?"

Noah's eyes widened, "You mean, you don't know the story?" I shook my head. "A few years ago, Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth were coming up the that hill with Grover. They were chased by like a million monsters! They were really close, but the monsters kept on coming. Thalia told Grover to take Annabeth and Luke to camp and took her last stand there fighting. While she was dying, her dad, Zeus, took pity on her and made her into that pine tree on the top of Half-Blood Hill. It's been called Thalia's Pine Tree ever since." A silence spread over us.

Finally, I said, "Wow. She must've been really brave."

Noah nodded, "Oh, she was." A conch shell sounded over the camp. "Dinner bell, we should get back. This was fun, let's do it again sometime, kay?" I nodded. "Bye, Angel**(A/N: hehe, Maximum Ride)**!"

With one last grin he ran off, leaving me shaking my head at his nickname. I'm no where _near _an angel. I was shaking with laughter all the way to the cabin 11.

Two Hermes boys that were outside saw me coming and ran to open the door for me. They both looked alike, with brown hair like a mop on their heads and their mischievous smiles that proved their parentage. "Here you go pretty girl." One of the brothers said.

"Travis! Hey, pretty lady, my name is Connor." The other one said, trying to do that cool guy act by leaning on the door frame. Honestly, Connor looked like he was about to fall on his face.

Trying desperately to hold my giggles in, I politely said,"Thank you boys. Honestly." I smiled at them and they grinned back. I walked into the crowded cabin. Most of the Hermes campers were busy picking pockets or talking about their latest pranks. I saw Percy talking to Luke and headed over.

"Hey Strargirl, how was your tour?" Percy asked. I couldn't hold my laughter in anymore. I giggled, doubling over. Percy looked at Luke weirdly, "Did I do something?"

I stood up, "N-n-no th-the Her-hermes br-brothers." I managed to let out. Luke nodded in understanding.

"The Stoll brothers." He explained to Percy "Always causing trouble."

I straightened up and stoped laughing, "All done. Shouldn't we line up for dinner?" Luke nodded.

"Eleven, fall in!" Luke called.

The Stoll brothers encased me. I sent a 'help me' look to Percy, but he just answered by trying to to laugh.

Together, with Travis and Connor arguing all the way, we marched to the mess hall. I still didn't understand how they still ate there if it rained, but whenever I asked, people would just look at me weirdly.

The mess hall pavilion had white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls. Which explains my confusion about the rain.

Dryads, Satyrs, and Demigods marched up to the hall. I saw a couple of little girls-around the age of 9 or 10-melt out of the trees and skip happily up the hill.

At the pavilion, all of the torches were lit and a bronze brazier in the middle of the pavilion had a burning fire in it. The Hermes table was beyond crowded. Poor Percy had to squeeze into the edge, while I had a seat between Travis and Connor. It was hard to decide which seat was worse. Travis sadi, "Pepsi." and his goblet filled with the brown bubbly liquid.

I thought about it then said, "Coke." The goblet filled with Coke. Then I said, "_Green _Coke." The soda turned green. I smiled, satisfied. I looked around.

Annabeth's table had a few kids, all with her blond hair and grey eyes. The Apollo table was loud and most of them were singing, or talking about the latest basketball scores. Noah saw me and waved. I smile in response. The next table had big, burly kids. They all looked like they wanted to pick a fight. The girls, too. One girl in particular, that was soaked, had a scowl on her face and was glaring at Percy.

The nymphs started serving us barbeque. Everyone started standing up and going to the brazier. They put bits of their food into the fire. The biggest piece of chicken, the juiciest strawberry. "Burnt offering to the gods." I heard Luke say to Percy. I stood up and went to the fire. _Please, please show me who I am, _I thought and dropped some mashed potatoes into the fire. Instead of the burning smell I thought it would have, it smelled like fresh chocolate. I sat back down and started eating.

Once everyone was about finished, Chiron beat his hooves.

Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd bet-ter say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels.'

The big, burly kids cheered.

"Personally, Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have two new campers today. Peter Johnson and Ashley Bone. "

Chiron murmured something.

"Er, Percy Jackson and Astraia Bonadzli, Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on. "

Everyone cheered. We headed to the amphitheater, where the Apollo cabin held a sing-along. The funny thing was, that in all this happy singing and laughing, I finally felt like I was home. With real family. Well, of course, it didn't help that the Stoll brothers were trying to get my attention all throughout the campfire, but it still felt comfortable.

Later on, the conch shell sounded again and we headed to our cabins. I got into my sleeping bad next to Percy and sighed. I had survived my first day in Camp Half-Blood.

* * *

The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.

Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, Percy and I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.

The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. At my archery classes, I'd yet to find a bow that balanced correctly, but I didn't dare use my magical one, because I was afraid Chiron would cach me. Archery and sword-fighting were my best. Percy was better than me at sword-fighting, though. Once, during practice, he even dis-armed Luke. And Luke was the best sword-fighter is the last 100 years.

Living in Camp Half-Blood was working out well for me.I had a family. A huge one, but still a family. It made me feel better. Percy and I were still close as always, and were basically joined at the hip, just like the good old days.

At last, it was the day for the Capture The Flag game. The whole camp was buzzed about it. No one could keep quiet. When the conch shell sounded, everyone stood at their tables. Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and her sibilings carried the silver flag into the pavilion. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, the Ares girl, who I learned later that her name was Clarisse, and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.

Percy turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"

"Yeah. "

"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"

"Not always, he said. "But often. "

"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?"

He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one. "

I grinned identically. This was going to be fun.

"Whose side are we on?" I asked, well, yelled.

He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you two are going to help. "

The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded-shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities-in order to win support.

Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too wor-ried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped. Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem. That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.

Chiron hammered his hoof on the table.

"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly cov-ered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.

"Whoa," Percy said, "We're supposed to use these?"

Luke looked at him as if he were crazy. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here-Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol. "

My armor was a little shade of golden and weighed about a million pounds. I had learned that my necklace had other magical weapons, so I opted to use my bow and arrows, knives, and a sword that was strapped to my belt. What was funny was that all of these weapons fit me perfectly, like they were made specially for me. My helmet had blue horse hair on the top like all of the other campers on my side.

I was using a huge shield that had winged sandals in the middle. Percy used a sword and his shield was similar to mine except his had a caduceus in the center. He was wobbling a bit, and I had to hold my mouth to keep from laughing. Percy looked at me incredulously. "How do you carry all that? I can barely carry my shield!" A giggle sprung from my mouth and soon , I couldn't stop.

Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

I straightened up, my body still shaking with cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.

Percy and I managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over my equipment. "Hey. "

She kept marching.

"So what's the plan?" Percy asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"

Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something.

"Just watch Clarisse's spear, she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you two your jobs?"

"Border patrol, whatever that means. I said.

"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan. "

She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.

"Okay, Percy mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team. "

It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.

"You know, I said, thoughtfully, "I don't think Annabeth likes you much."

Percy looked at me with a face that said, well-duh. I rolled my eyes, "Well, why do you think that is?"

"Dunno." He shrugged.

We were silent for a moment. Then I said, "Sooo, what'd you do to Clarisse to make her so mad?"

Percy laughed nervously, "Um, I kinda splashed some toilet water on her..."

I chuckled, "No wonder she's out to get ya."

A rustle came from the under bush and I brought my shield up. Suddenly, Clarisse and her buddies sprang up and she yelled, "Cream the punk!"

Her small, ugly eyes stared at Percy and she a 5-foot-long spear that crackled with electricity. Her buddies each had bronze swords-that I weren't to happy about. I drew my sword, ready to fight.

They charged across the stream. Percy brought up his sword and shield, too. "Ready?" he asked. I nodded in agreement.

I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. Half of them surrounded me, but the others and Clarisse went to Percy. Ugly number 1 swiped his sword at me, but I parried. I twisted around and slammed my hilt into his sword arm. He fell back and Ugly number 2 decided to come in at that point. I raised my sword just in time. Ugly 2 made a mistake and lunged towards me. I knocked off his helmet and slammed my shield at him. He fainted as soon as he hit the ground.

I could hear Clarisse laughing and she said, "Give him a haircut. Grab his hair. "

Percy managed to get to his feet. He raised his sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew.

"Oh, wow, Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared. "

"The flag is that way, I told her. I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid it didn't come out that way.

"Yeah, one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid. "

"Percy didn't do anything. You do that without his help, I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.

Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shish-ke-babbed. As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut.

Seeing my own blood made me dizzy-warm and cold at the same time.

"No maiming, I managed to say.

"Oops, the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege."

He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash. They all laughed. I hadn't heard him, but Percy came up behing the guy and him on the head with his shield. The Ares camper crumbled.

"Oops." Percy said.

I couldn't imagine how Percy could have gotten up, but he looked full of energy. "You come back for more, Prissy? Or are you just defending your girlfriend?" Clarisse sneered.

Clarisse and her cabin-mates came into the water and tried to tackle Percy, but he was ahead of them. He swung the flat of his sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. Percy hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water.

Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, Percy caught the shaft between the edge of his shield and sword, and he snapped it like a twig.

"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"

She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stum-bling backward out of the creek. "And that's what you get for messing with my best friend." I said.

Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos-including Noah-behind them, fight-ing off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.

"A trick." She shouted. "It was a trick."

They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Luke ran over the boundary line and our side erupted with cheers. I laughed and hugged/tackled Percy. We were about to go join the celebration, when Annabeth's voice said from right next to us, "Good job, guys."

I looked, but she wasn't there.

"Where the heck did you two learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.

"You set me up, " Percy said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out. "

Annabeth shrugged, "I told you, Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me and Astraia pulverized. "

I rolled my eyes, Percy can be such a jerk sometimes.

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but ... " She shrugged. "You didn't need help. "

Then she noticed Percy wounded arm. "How did you do that?"

"Sword cut, " he said. "What do you think?"

"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it. "

"I-I don't get it, " I said.

Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy. "

"What-"

"Just do it. "

Percy came out of the creek and immediately stumbled. He almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied him.

On his arm, the blood was gone. The huge gash was fading. I looked at my own cut, but instead of red blood oozing out, golden liquid was coming out of the wound. Annabeth noticed my wound. Her eyes widned and she went pale. "What.. why is my blood yellow?" I asked. Chiron and Mr.D were in the clearing now.

"Oh, Styx, " she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want ... I assumed it would be Zeus... The blood of the gods."

"Huh?" I muttered. Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.

The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: "Stand ready! My bow!"

Annabeth drew her sword.

There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.

It was looking straight at Percy and me.

Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Guys, run!"

She tried to step in front of us, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her-an enormous shadow with teeth-and just as it hit Percy, as he stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through his armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.

Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim.

"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't ... They're not supposed to ... "

"Someone summoned it, " Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp. "

Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.

Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"

"Be quiet, child, " Chiron told her.

We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.

"You're wounded, " Annabeth told him. "Quick, Percy, get in the water. "

"I'm okay. "

"No, you're not, " she said. "Chiron, watch this. "

As soon as he touched the water, all of his cuts started to heal.

A glowing sign of a trident appeared above Percy's head. Everyone gasped, but I just looked at it blankly. "What?" Percy asked. But when he saw the sign, he yelped and tried to dodge it. Chiron looked sad, like someone had died.

Then, something weird happened.

I started _glowing_. A golden light encased me. I started floating off the ground.

Annabeth had enough sense to yell, "Close your eyes!" I even closed mine.

Once I felt my feet touch the ground, I slowly opened my eyes. Everyone was staring at me.

Mr. D cackled, "Good one, Zeus. Never saw that coming, for sure."

I looked down, only to find my outfit completely different. Instead of my armor, I was wearing a dark blue one-shoulder Greek chiton. A silver star was on my shoulder strap. I had dark brown strappy sandals on. On my arms, I had a swirly braclet that wounded around my upper arm like a snake and two simple silver bangles adorned my wrists. My charm necklace was on my neck, and all except my bow and arrow charms were on it. My bow was newly polished and the arrows were in a quiver on my back. I took an arrow out and discovered that each had a silver ribbon tied around it.

I looked at my reflection in the water. My glossy black hair fell down to mid-back and was slightly curled at the bottom. Slight mascara and eye-liner out-lined my eyes. In all, I looked like... like... "A goddess." Percy mumered.

Chiron then spoke sadly, as if at our funerals, "It is determined. All hail, Astraia, goddess of the stars, lady of the night, mistress of animals. And, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Lord Poseidon, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses."

**Sooo... SHE'S A GODDESS! Amazing!**

**PLEASE R&R?**

**~EllaTheHarpy**

**P.S. I know I haven't updated all of my other stories, but I will. I promise.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey Y'all! I love how this story is going so far. Oh, and in my other story _KANEplusJACKSON? _also has Astraia in it. And I admit that Carter may have a small crush on her. So, you should check that out! Anyway, ONWARD WITH THE STORY!**

**Oh yeah, and I'm gonna have a Percy POV in this chappy... Finally.**

**Disclaimer:I do not own PJ... *SAD PENNY***

**Astraia POV-**

Everyone bowed with shocked faces. Mr.D snorted. "Sure, give _her_ a bow. Well, I guess I should welcome you, little sister." I recoiled. I was related to _Mr.D_? The pudgy god of wine who sits on his lazy butt all day? Mr.D glared at me. "Yes, unfortunately, you and I are sibilings." He could read my mind. Seriously, don't gods know a little thing called privacy? Mr.D snorted.

And... me? A goddess? That wasn't even possible. Everyone still had a shocked look on their face. My shock replaced with anger. My face turned into a scowl. "What?" I snapped. "Stop looking at me!" I ran into the forest. I could hear Percy faintly calling out my name, but I kept on running.

**Percy POV-([this unfortunately has to be short:(] Chiron held Percy back. HE IS NOT RUNNING AFTER ASTRAIA)**

Astraia, _my _Astraia, a goddess? Now, that was unexpected. When she off into the woods, I tried to run after her, but Chiron held me back. Who knew centaurs were so strong? Well, they are half horse; it's kinda obvious. Wow, I am a Seaweed Brain.

Anyway, I really wanted to go after Astraia. I bet it really ticked her off with all the campers staring at her like that. She never liked being different. Astraia always hated all the attention and with being a big 'goddess' and all, I really think she just exploded. But, I know she's happy too. She found out who she was, even though she doesn't know who her parents are yet. What if Zeus's her dad? That would awesome! But would our parents be friends? My dad being Poseidon and all. I still don't believe that I am a son of the _sea god_. It's so cool!

I looked at the woods longingly. Then, I finally gave in and followed Chiron to the Big House.

**Astraia POV-**

I ran for what seemed like forever, but finally broke down sobbing in the middle of the forest. Dryads peeked out of their trees, but didn't approach me. Why did people have to be so cruel? I mean, I can't be a goddess. The gods must be pulling a prank. That's it. "Besides, I'm not even pretty." I muttered.

"No, you're beautiful." A lady appeared in front of me. She was stunning, her dark hair was braided into a hunter's braid and her eyes were silver. Literally, silver. She smiled. It wasn't a cold smile like I thought it would be, instead the smile radiated warmth, like a motherly smile. No, this couldn't be- "Yes, child. I am Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and I am your mother, I assure you." Artemis, er my mother, said. Thunder rumbled in the sky. "I know father! I broke my oath! But, that doesn't really matter now that I have met you. A wonderfully sweet child." Artemis. My mother was Artemis. She broke her oath. For my dad. Thinking of that, who was my dad?

Artemis sighed and her silvery eyes darkened. "Oh, sweet, your father was a wonderful mortal. Honest, brave and kind, and even humorous too," She gave a dry chuckle. "He was a king among men, and that is said by a maiden goddess. Yes, Tommy was different. He was a gentlemen. You know, he saved me from a monster. Me, a goddess. Saved by a weak mortal who could see through the mist. Of course, I was fuming at first, but I eventually calmed down. After my pathetic rant at your father, he asked me out on a date as if I was't a goddess with power, but a true being who he had a crush on. Tommy was brave, asking a goddess out on a 'date'. I do admit that I acted like Aphrodite a bit at that. Blushing tomato red, I accepted the invitation. Then, your father smiled. Oh, I'll never forget his smile. Espeacially since you have that same special smile. I loved that smile. So warm and full of life. Imagine, me, the goddess of maidens, falling in love with a mortal man. Then, when you came along, everything was perfect. Of course, you had been born a goddess, as the result of my genes. I had to let your father take care of you. You probably don't remember, but you were his little Huntress. A princess in his eyes. Tommy loved you from the very beginning. Unfortunately, happiness doesn't last long. One day, when Tommy was driving in the rain back home with you, a truck came out of nowhere and hit the car. I suppose it was my price for falling in love," My mom gave me a sad smile. " I hardened after that. I shut myself out. I never made contact with boys, afraid that they'd remind me of your father, but it hurt even more. I was always looking after you, though. I made sure you got adopted by . It was hard not keeping you, espeacially when you had your fathers features, his smile, his eyes, his face. But I had to protect you. So, I did. Until now, I kept your goddess form hidden. It kept you safe, but I knew that we only had limite time until your true form showed. I was the one who got you an Percy safely to camp. It was so hard not meeting you earlier. " Artemis chuckled, "I don't know how my brothers and sisters stand having so many children that they cannot even meet. Now you know child, so do not despair and know that you are truly a goddess and the only and prized daughter of me. And, know inside that your father and I have always loved you. Do not tell anyone that you are my child, they will figure it out themselves in a special way." My mother winke at me and gave me one last hug, then she disappeared in a big burst of light.

I sat there, amazed. My mother was the goddess Artemis. And I was the goddess of the stars and nightlife. Slowly, I walked back to the Big House, still wondering how my life went from boring, to this.

**Percy POV- (YAY! Another Percy POV!)**

I sat anxiously on the porch of the Big House waiting for Astraia to come back. She ha already been gone for half an hour and I was getting worried. Plus I was still in shock out of being the son of the sea god. It's a big step; going from a nobody to someody. I wonder how Astraia felt. She went from a nobody to a superstar.

Finally, after five minutes of constant worrying, I saw Astraia up the hill towards the Big House. She had this big goofy smile on her face an looked as if she hadn't run into the woods crying. When she saw me, Astraia ran and tackled me in a big hug. "Hi Percy! You won't even believe what happend! My mom-" She stopped talking. Astraia looked behind me. "Why is Annabeth spying on us?"

Sure enough, Annabeth took off her hat and smiled sheepishly. "Uh, hi guys?"

Astraia smile grew bigger, if it was even possible. "Hi Annabeth!"

Annabeth looked me weirdly, "Um, hi Lady Astraia."

Astraia let go of me. "Just Astraia's fine." Just then a weird sign glowed above Astraia's head. It was a picture of the moon and was bathed in silver light.

Annabeth gasped. Astraia looked at her head. "So this is how you wanted to show them, mom." She muttered.

Annabeth said, "Your mother is..." She trailed off.

"Artemis." Astraia finished for her.

**Annabeth POV-**

Artemis? But that's impossible!

**I believe this is the shortest chappy yet! Wow! Anyway, so sorry for not updating! Seriously!**

**R&R? For me? So I can update faster?**

**~EllaTheHarpy**


	8. Chapter 8

**So long! Sorry, first week of school is hectic! Sorry, too many excuses. So-Er, too many sorrys too. So, anyway, ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer-I DO NOT OWN PJ, awwwww, cause I would totally make PiperandLeo a couple! LIPER ALL THE WAY;)**

**Astraia POV-**

****"Actually, technically, it is possible." I said to Annabeth. Percy and Annabeth look confused at me. "What?" I asked. "Didn't Annabeth say something?"

Percy still looked confused, but Annabeth looked like she solving a math problem."Um, no." Percy answered.

"No?'' My face scrunched up. "I could have sworn that she had something."

"She did, well, she thought it at least." A male voice said behind me. I slowly turned around. A teenage guy was leaning against the wall of the Big House. He had sandy hair and a cocky smirk on his face, sunglasses covered his eyes.

Annabeth stiffened, "Um, h-hi Lord A-apollo." My eyes widened. Apollo? As in, _the _Apollo? Wow.

"Yes, _the _Apollo. The one and only," He smirked, "Oh, and thank you Annabeth." Annabeth turned a deep shade of crimson. "I cannot believe goody-two-shoes Artemis broke the rule. Artemis! That's priceless! Anyway, what's your name again?"

"Astraia."

"Astraia," He mused, " 'The Starry One.' Fits Artemis. Goddess of the stars, huh? Big responsibility, and don't even get me started on the paychecks. Know the basics? I suppose you'll have to meet Zeus at one point-" Apollo kept on going on and on. He stopped abruptly and said, "Er, got to go." Then he disappeared in a burst of light.

"Hey Astraia!" Noah came running up to me. His bond hair swished back and forth. I couldn't help but notice his cute face scrunched up in a worried expression. Hold on, 'cute face'? Oh, gods. "Are you ok? You kind of had me worried."

I couldn't but think, 'Awwwwww, he cares!' I tried to keep my excitement in. "Oh, um, just shock I guess. I mean, a goddess! Me!" I chuckled. So did Noah.

"I, er, got to go...to the library. Come on Percy." Annabeth quickly pulled Percy, Percy was protesting, and headed off.

"So... How's the whole goddess thing working out? Did you find out who your parents are?" I nodded.

"My mother is Artemis, and my father was a mortal."

Noah exclaimed, "Really? So cool! Do you know where your dad is?"

My eyes turned a bit misty, but I kept my tears in. "Um, he d-died in a car c-crash." My voiced broke a little. Noah knew not to say anything. He just nodded and hugged me. Tears spilled down my cheeks. Once I was down with my sob-session, I said, "Sorry about getting your shirt soaked... I'm such a baby."

He chuckled. "I'm appalled you even think that. It's okay. Even goddesses need to cry sometime." I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

Someone cleared their throat. I turned my head. Chiron stood their, in full centaur form and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but I believe a meeting is in order?"

I nodded and said, "Of course. Bye Noah." Noah waved and headed back towards the cabins.

"Come on inside." I followed him inside, he sat into his wheelchair of course, and we sat down on the sofa. "Now, my dear, are you quite alright?"

"I-I guess so. I mean after you find out that your mom is Artemis-"

Chiron's eyes widened. "Artemis?"

"Yeah. She even told me the story-" I told him the story that Artemis told me. About my dad, the car crash, everything.

When we finished, Chiron said, "Ah, yes. That makes sense. Of course, you will be moved out of cabin 11 and into a guest room in the Big House. Until we get you a cabin of course. Of course, you will choose the architect who will build your cabin... Until we meet again, Astraia." I got up and muttered a quick bye before heading out.

What an eventful day.

**Such a short chapter! More like a filler, but it had to be done.**

**R&R?**

**By the Way, I suck at Usernames and I really want a cool one for instagram, so any helpfull people out there? Please?**

**~EllaTheHarpy**


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